Nottingham | Hetty Hikes

Nottinghamshire Photos by Hetty

4th to 8th March 2024

We went by train and arrived at this grand station

St Mary’s in the Lace Market dates from 1386 – 1475. It has a lot of Victorian stained glass. The lion and unicorn date from 1705.

There are angels near the roof of the nave.

The Lace Market has grand buildings that were Victorian lace factories – many are now apartments.

The Adams building is now a college

The city centre is traffic free, apart from buses, trams etc, so is quiet to walk about. There are many grand buildings

Nottingham Contemporary has lace patterns on the outside. It is by the Weekday Cross

We followed the City Trail to and from the castle.

www.visit-nottinghamshire.co.uk/dbimgs/Nottingham%20Trail%202022_compressed.pdf

Royal Children – an unusual name for a pub. It was rebuilt in 1933, but the story is that James II’s grandchildren played with the inn keepers children.

Severn’s Building (below left) dates from about 1450 and was moved here by the castle from Middle Pavement about 1970.

Nottingham Castle was first built in 1068. It has outer walls but the castle itself was demolished after the Civil War.

Robin Hood

King Charles I started the Civil War at Nottingham, but the castle was held for Parliament. Afterwards the castle was destroyed. A palace was built there, completed in 1678, but it later became a boarding school, then apartments. It was burned in riots in 1831 then was left until it was renovated to become a museum of fine art in 1878. It was upgraded in 2021 and has many interesting displays.

The castle now and a model of how it once was.

We went on the excellent “Mortimer’s hole” tour of the caves under the castle. Starting at the top, then down many steps to Brewhouse Yard, with stories from the castle’s history on the way

Also under the castle is one of the oldest pubs in the country

Walking back through the city centre we passed Lord Byron’s house (left)

Sky mirror outside the Playhouse

On the right was the first Boots Chemist department store

Green’s Windmill and science centre. The sails are being repaired. There are two types – slated and with fabric

We climbed up to the top

This part of the canal was once very busy

We walked to the River Trent

Memorial gardens laid out on land donated by Sir Jesse Boot (the Chemist)

Wollaton Hall https://wollatonhall.org.uk/

Camellias outside and in the Camillia House

At the stables there is an industrial museum

There is a knitting machine and lots of lace machines, aswell as engines, bikes ….

In the house is the Natural History Museum. The temporary exhibition was “Miniature Masterpieces” – sculptures in the eye of a needle by Dr Willard Wigan – amazing!